Bali High

I am settled into the cottages here in Ubud. Tonight I had my first teacher training class and finally met the instructors and other students who will help lead me down this path. I have decided to accept my teachers' warm invitation to live in mouna (silence) for this week and as such I will not be posting or answering emails until this period has passed.
I invite you to take this moment to breath deeply and live in the moment.
Namaste,
RachelI arrived in Denpasar at night. The sea of taxi drivers with name placards was overwhelming and it took me ten minutes to find the one with my name on it. Budi my driver, made Johan look conservative. We weaved in and out of motorbikes, around blind corners up over curves and thanks to L’Alpe-d”Huez I never flinched. All these years of driving under my belt and somehow I never realized that one could disregard all traffic laws with a mere tap of the horn.

While it was too dark to get a look at the topography I could make out the myriad of carving shops along the way. Hundreds of dragons, Buddha’s, temples so many I can’t help but wonder who buys them all.

I got to the hotel around 9pm, threw down my bags and made the three block walk down to the market. I bought all of the shampoo, soap, bug spray, etc. that I will need for my time here, and a few other little items. I was so confused by the prices, bug spray 10,500rp – really a big bottle of deet for less than $2, that can’t be right…. I got some handmade verbena soap 850rp, roughly ten cents. All together my three weeks worth of toiletries cost about $12.

On the way back I passed a front porch/restaurant and dumb-lucked my way into a fantastic meal of curried veggies and my last beer for a while, cost $2.40. Everyone sits together on this porch and as a result I got to meet Jonathon and Mary from North Carolina, Jonathon is a musician who has played Steve’s Guitars back in my home of Carbondale, Colorado. I met a few local fellows too who kindly told me where I can find the post office, the other yoga studio in town, the flea market on and on. Today I plan to go exploring and find these places for myself.
When I went to bed last night I couldn’t help but wish the night away – and I was so excited to wake up and have the sun illuminate my surroundings. The cottages where I am staying are in the midst of rice paddies and there are walking paths through the fields which are dotted with altars and offering stations. I strolled for a bit and then went to the restaurant for a breakfast of fresh fruit, rice and passion fruit juice. I am in love with this place.

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